June 09, 2014

Banh Mi Handbook Pre-Order Giveaway!

Friends and banh mi buddies, my publisher Ten Speed Press and I are partnering up with Red Boat Fish Sauce on several exciting events for The Banh Mi Handbook. Red Boat owner Cuong Pham and I have been talking about doing fun stuff together to spread the word about the book and Vietnamese food and cooking.

Ten Speed Press had no problems joining the party and being part of Team Banh Mi! We’re all very excited about the book and hope to get you cooking, eating and creating fabulous Vietnamese sandwiches.

First up is a pre-order giveaway – a special “Thank YOU!” gift for 500 people who’ve expressed their banh mi love in advance of the book’s release on July 8. The giveaway includes a temporary tattoo created by book designer Betsy Stromberg. We dubbed it "The Banh Mi Coat of Arms," and is based on one of Betsy’s graphics in The Banh Mi Handbook.

You’ll also receive a custom bookplate signed by me that you can affix to the inside of The Banh Mi Handbook. Since I can’t travel to do personal book signings everywhere, I thought it would nice to provide the bookplate to folks.

To put the giveaway together, I tried on the prototype, signed the bookplates and went about 5 rounds to get the umami mayo recipe that I liked. Enjoy!

Cuong contributed a packet of a new product – umami-laden Red Boat salt that’s made in very limited quantity. The salt is naturally produced from the rich fish sauce that Red Boat crafts in Phu Quoc, Vietnam. It’s a fascinating stealth ingredient that’s mostly available to chefs at this time. He gifted me some a while back and I’ve been playing with it. Now it’s your turn.

To get you going on tinkering with Red Boat salt (think nuoc mam fleur de sel!), I developed an umami mayo recipe that’s also included in the giveaway. Add that bonus recipe to the other mayo recipes in the book. Those are the four special items included in the banh mi pre-order bundle!

So if you pre-ordered The Banh Mi Handbook or are thinking of pre-ordering the book this giveaway is for you. It’s for online orders made through sites such as Amazon, B&N, IndieBound, and Jessica's Biscuit.

Hardcopy and ebook orders qualify; you just need an order number from your e-receipt to claim your gift. As the fine print says,"Open only to legal residents of the 50 states of the United States and the country of Canada, who are physically located and residing therein."

Here are the details. Click on step 3 (last listed item) to claim the pre-order giveaway:

Note: If you’re in the Bay Area on Monday, July 14 come to Omnivore Books for The Banh Mi Handbook launch party. My friend Celia Sack is throwing the party (6:30-8:30pm) and Team Banh Mi is pitching. Party favors, a door prize, snacks by me, and cocktails by Jeff Bareilles of two-Michelin star Manresa Restaurant. Yes, all of my books will be for sale!

If you can’t make the party, Omnivore Books is taking pre-orders for banh mi and of course, I’ll personally sign your copy. The party is free and open to the public. Banh mi is food for the people. Mark your calendar and come on down.